AMERICAN IDOL® Microphone Tours the Nation (Video)

This year the famous AMERICAN IDOL® microphone will be
seeing a lot more “action” than the glittering lights and auditions on the
stage. For the first time in its 12-season
history, the IDOL™ mic is making its way across the country.
The mic started in New York City earlier this month and will travel 5,000 miles
to the IDOL™ stage in Los Angeles on March 13.

As a long-time sponsor and supporter of AMERICAN IDOL®,
Coca-Cola is helping bring fans closer to the action. Together AMERICAN IDOL®
and Coca-Cola are giving 13 cities the IDOL™ treatment. Fans, inspirational
heroes, local officials and former Idols™ in each city are carrying the mic
through dozens of city landmarks, such as Times Square, Fenway Park, the
Lincoln Memorial, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and many, many others. Each mic
carrier is encouraged to carry the mic by walking, running, skateboarding or
any other activity that inspires them to get moving.

Last Tuesday, Atlanta welcomed the mic in style with a stop
at the World of Coca-Cola. IDOL™ Season 4 runner-up Bo Bice handed off the mic
to World of Coca-Cola ambassadors who carried the mic to the Vault where Coca-Cola
keeps its secret formula and then visited the IDOL™ Season 4 iconic red couch. The
Coca-Cola Polar Bear joined in on the fun before the mic drove away on a miniature
Coca-Cola delivery truck.

This past Friday, the IDOL Mic Tour stopped in Chicago – home of
former AMERICAN IDOL® participant Naima Adedapo. While visiting the Chicago
Cultural Center, Naima was joined by four Coca-Cola employees who heartily
welcomed the Idol Across America Tour to their city and ran the mic to Cloud
Gate, also commonly known as “The Bean”.

Members of the Coca-Cola Chicago team with the Idol microphone.

You can follow the final legs of the Idol Across America
Tour online here. And be sure to tune in
to AMERICAN IDOL® on March 20 for the Top 8 live performances in Los Angeles.
The show will air live on FOX from 8-10 p.m. ET (PT tape-delayed). Also, join Coca-Cola for the rest of the AMERICAN IDOL® season
as we kick-off the third year of the Perfect Harmony program.

Polar bear mascot with the microphone at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- or no-sugar options to help people moderate their consumption of added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our leading brands around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive contributions to the world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and continuing to introduce new ones with added benefits. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world.